(continuing on with #askelminster, leaving the absolutely absurd volume of #realmslore to poor Wooly)

Ed Greenwood, @TheEdVerse, 02 Apr 2019Q: Is it appropriate to haggle over prices in a Waterdhavian shop?

Elminster: It really doth depend on the shop, but in general, Waterdhavians want to do business and are used to competition, so unless the shop is haughty (and such establishments are to be found in Sea Ward and a few mainstreet frontages in North Ward and Castle Ward), it hurts not to try. However, if this angers the proprietor, or he or she saith “The cobbles are firm” (short for: “I stand by this price, and the cobbles are firm beneath my feet,” which really means: I can’t go lower and make ANY profit at all), then NO, haggle not. Yet if ye make a habit of this, don’t expect to get waited on before a customer who’s an unknown, or looks to be an outlander, or who rushes to pay full price for something spotted in the shop window. The Deep is an expensive city to live in, so although competition is the great leveler, there ARE “floor minimums.” And if shop staff seem to enjoy haggling, but then say something like “The day DOES draw on,” or “My, but the sun races across the sky,” they are signalling that their patience for the bargaining game is drawing to an end. And unless ye’re ordering something by the thousands, haggle not in a guild headquarters, unless ye’re TRYING to be insulting. Get too ripe a reputation for haggling, and ye’ll earn the rebuff: a hard stare whilst a single copper coin (often tarnished, bent or battered, or of an outland minting) is dropped into a bowl, then retrieved and dropped again, repeatedly.

Ed Greenwood, @TheEdVerse, 03 Apr 2019Q: I dwell in North Ward, Waterdeep. My neighbours’ house and yard are more than unkempt; rats run about amid rotting food, old broken furniture, and the corpses of…pets? Slain intruders? If I complain, will lawkeepers do something?

Elminster: The Watch will likely search the property for signs of a crime (like the remains being human), forcing entry if need be to do so. And snarl and roar at the owner to clean it up, particularly if the owner snarls and roars at their request or their intrusion. And there, unless contraband is found in the building or evidence of another crime, the matter will likely rest, though Watch patrols will keep an eye on the property from then on, waiting for a transgression, so they can then pounce. If a property becomes a “peril” rather than an eyesore, the city may send a work crew to clean it up (a bill for this will be added to the tax demand levied on the owner) or even pull the property down and seize the land (this last is VERY rare, as citizens are reminded that the Lords could do as much to them, and always raise a protest that the Lords shouldn’t have such power). And by the way, the mere presence of rats is NOT a matter for complaint; in a coastal harbor city with extensive sewers and deeper places beneath, they are common (some say they far outnumber the human inhabitants) and impossible to eradicate; seasoned Waterdhavians ignore them, smiting them only when they bite or ravage foodstuffs or clothing. There are even chapbooks of recipes for preparing rat for the dining table to be had in the right shops and stalls; quite popular in dock Ward, I’m told. Myself, I roast rats stuffed with almonds, on skewers, until crispy (so the furry skin becomes like crackling, and can be readily pulled off and discarded). Then dust with cinnamon or nutmeg, and enjoy!

(slight follow-up)

Tim -Madness is just a state of mind- Bend, @being_tim, 03 Apr 2019Dear Elminster. If you can afford almonds, nutmeg, and cinnamon, why are you eating rats?

Ed Greenwood, @TheEdVerse, 03 Apr 2019Elminster saith: The right rats are a delicacy. So are the right cockroaches (roast them well, mind). Ye must set aside Earth cuisine attitudes and prejudices when in the Realms. (Though if ye successfully manage to sneak in ice cream, I'll be thy FRIEND.)

@Edward96094160Making A Thayan character, I noticed an item called A Web of Bells, which is apparently a dancers costume Do you have any insight into what it ooks like/how it was used? Or anything else interesting about Thay? Big fan Thank you for your time :)

@TheEdVerseHi!A Web of Bells is rather drafty/revealing for outdoor wear: picture an bodystocking, wrist-cuffs to collar to ankle-cuffs, entirely made of (usually black, but can be crimson) fishnet, with TINY bells (look like pearls) sewn to every cord-junction. Used for "exotic" dancing, in dimly-lit clubs and on raised stages/tables. Many Thayans who aren't dancers buy one, because when worn as an undergarment to social functions, and tiny bits of it revealed to particular persons, it can be used as a signal of "I'm interested" in a hookup. Can be worn by either gender, but more often seen on women. NOT for wear by slaves, unless you're signalling that you are freeing this particular being who's wearing one. And yes, Thay's an interesting place. @gkrashos has done an essential "root Realmslore" Thay piece that you can find (for free!) on the DM's Guild: Tyrants in Scarlet: the Founding History of the Zulkirs of Thay. (It's a lot more than just history! It explains the Big Secret of Thay.)#Realmslore

@DNDartWizardI'm hooked here sir! Assuming it is set in FR, would it be possible for the dragon to find a way to access the 11th and 12th level spells that Mystra has (rightly so) banned?

Also chose not to answer as you are busy writing this novel and dont wish to spoil!

@TheEdVerseHeh. No. If the dragon reached the verge of succeeding in accessing such magics, Mystra would "bend the Weave around" said wyrm, effectively cutting him off from ALL magic. Either destroying him due to what he's become, or letting him receive just the trickle necessary to let him continue existing. Mystra's tolerance, mercy, and patience have all been shortened by the events of the last century and a bit.#Realmslore

@djtigoncan a noble house/family be cast out of nobility by the rest of the nobility in Waterdeep?

@TheEdVerseOh, yes. Not officially, but a firm-majority-shunning would be recognized by the Masked Lords and formalized by the Open Lord. It's very rare, though, because unless a noble house is trying to poison the water supply or destroy the ancient elven magic that keeps the city from collapsing into Undermountain, or otherwise endanger the entire city, getting a majority of the nobles to agree on much of anything (beyond "we nobles are special, and should be treated as such") is nigh-impossible.#Realmslore

@djtigonWhat then might be the penalty if it came to light that a noble house wound up having a tainted bloodline and not truly being human after all

@TheEdVerseNo likely legal or official penalty at all, just a loss of prestige and influence ("standing," they'd call it in the Realms) within the ranks of nobles, because some of the oldest, wealthiest, haughtiest Deep houses have some "humans first, humans pure" attitudes.

@djtigonRight, that's why i thought they might try to force them out of the city. Very cool. Thank you for the clarification. Might spin this then as some racial attacks, burning effigies etc led by unknown persons in an effort to scare them out of town

@garethgarfootVarious sources give different descriptions of where the Stonelands start and finish, can you clarify their extent? Regards and best wishes GG

@TheEdVerseThey begin at the cliff-edge that the E-W trade road through Eveningstar runs along the bottom/S edge of, and run N to where rocks end and desert sands begin. E and W ends of the Stonelands are far less distinct on a map, but are clear if you're on the ground: they're where the rock ridges and breakneck ravines between them start (both features running roughly E-W). The reason why maps tend to be vague is because no one lives there, and the terrain is so rugged.#Realmslore

@FRAltDimensionsHi Ed, I was wondering if you had an elvish word for Garden. In particular i'm trying to come up with a name for Winter's Garden as a place. I think Aug might refer to Winter but i'm struggling to find a word for garden.Kind RegardsGary

@TheEdVerseSure. Elves in the Realms have several words for the cold season and for gardens (depending on how tended and what for, but I'd go with "loress" for winter and "tlarranen" for garden, and they'd probably be combined as "loresstlar."#Realmslore

@gkrashosIn a previous reply on 17/2/19 you said that "oth" was the elvish word for Winter. Can we assume that "loress" works for "cold season" generally or is it a racial version of Winter (i.e. used by the wood elves)?

@TheEdVerseYes. "Oth" is the macro 'cold time of year' whereas "loress" is 'nature's cold season' for gardeners/growing things. When speaking of blizzards, closed roads, and dying of exposure, say "oth," but when speaking of hibernation, dormancy, and cold-resistant plants, say "loress." :}

12 Mar 2019

@gkrashosHi Ed, musing on things elven again with my partner in crime and wondering if you had the elvish words for "sadness/sorrow", "tear/tears" (as in wet stuff out of the eyes) and some gem types: diamond, ruby, sapphire, emerald and most of all, amber. Thanks so much

@TheEdVerse

Hi! Happy to help! In all FR Elvish and related tongues, gemstone names have the same singular and plural word form (i.e. “dwaor” means “diamond” AND “diamonds”), and the rest of the sentence gives context (i.e. a numerator; for a few of these, see hereafter

one = aetwo = ounaethree = tethfour = dloummany = juthuss...and that’s it for this delve through the old lore notes. :}#Realmslore

@gkrashosBrilliant @TheEdVerse. Thank you so much. One last thing: moon elves are Teu'Tel'Quessir = how do you say the "Teu" part? Is it like "toe", "tay" or something else? This Realmslore stuff is fun!

@TheEdVerseI pronounce it like "two," except pursing the lips in mid-syllable so it's more "tee-you" (but fast, so "tyu" more than tee-you). ;}Yes, I've noticed it's fun, too. And addictive. ;}#Realmslore

@sno4wyAnother follow-up for the Archmage: Do Realmsians wish each other happy birthdays like we do by saying "Happy Morn Day", or something to that effect ("Good Morn Day"?)?

@TheEdVerseThey say so many summers or so many winters. For instance, if you lived in the Realms and were named Bran, and had been born thirty winters ago (spring is lumped with summer, and fall with winter, for this usage only), you'd be saluted verbally on your birthday with waves or smiles or hugs or nods (depending on the closeness of your relationship with the being saluting you) as they said, "Thirty winters, Bran!" or just "Thirty winters!"#Realmslore

@MTGPackFoilsIf a sect of Bane bad 2 Clerics, one with 12 levels of Cleric but other levels in say Fighter, and a 16th level Cleric with 4 levels in Blackguard, which one would be the leader reporting to a regional leader or Fzoul? How would any conflict w/ the two be resolved?

@TheEdVerseThat depends more on the individual characters of the two clerics (as people, not in game level terms) and their prior position in the church hierarchy and whether they're personally "in favour" or not, than it does on levels. If "neck-and-neck," then the one with more levels as a cleric (which is a personal power measure of "holy standing" i.e. status with the deity). So, the most powerful factor is how Fzoul or a regional leader regards a cleric (i.e. "in favour" or not), the second most powerful is their church rank and real daily influence among the clergy. The third is what they're like "as people" (personal character). If the two characters are about equal when those three factors are all considered, than the one with more levels as a cleric would take the lead.

And as for how conflicts between the two would be resolved, that's a matter for roleplaying. Within the Church of Bane there's a strict hierarchy, but there's so much intrigue, deception and misdirection, and going to the ears of rivals through side-channels that strict rank is often undermined. Which keeps "pulling rank" from being misused, and so is tolerated by Fzoul, not just by Bane. Please note that this "chaotic" state of affairs is preferred and constantly promoted by Manshoon and various beholders involved with the church. Fzoul is "loudest voice" and "give the orders" leader, but he's so deftly and constantly manipulated by Manshoon and the beholders and even several senior clerics and Zhent mages, that Elminster and others regard him as a puppet leader.#Realmslore

14 Mar 2019@XynRavenAre spellbooks just simple books with spells recorded in them and get carried around like any typical item, or do Wizards materialize them out of nothing at will?

@TheEdVerseNeither. As in, they aren't simple, at all. Depending on the edition of the game and the DM's decisions, they may need special paper or equivalent writing surface (e.g. beaten metal pages; see my Pages From The Mages DRAGON articles or 2e sourcebook of the same name for examples), and the spells must be written with special inks, varying from spell to spell, that require as ingredients some rare and difficult/dangerous to obtain substances (e.g. wyvern's blood, cockatrice feathers, illithid brain ichor, beholder eye fluid), just to "contain" the power of the spell's enchantment (a written spell usually consists of a written incantation, a written-out process for how to intone it and the process of gesturing and focusing the mind and using any material components, plus glyphs on the page that store essential spell triggering energies). Or the DM may decide to dispense with this level of detail, though it alone can make for a great one-player-one-DM "solo arcane spellcaster PC" campaign (the adventuring for acquiring all of these necessities).But in any case, a spellbook is a literal book carried around. There are spells that allow a spellbook to be held extra-dimensionally and whisked to the caster upon command, and rare beings have managed spells to "hold a spellbook in their heads, BUT these spells are inherently unstable, and risk damage to the book and the caster's mind (which has its mental limits; see my Realms novel SHADOWS OF DOOM for an example of someone powerful trying to cope with being overloaded), loss of the book, and inability to retrieve the book when needed.In addition to all of this, many spellbooks are encrypted; that is, written in a shorthand code understandable only to those "in the know." A few even have pitfalls (mistakes) built in to mislead the unwary who try to cast or memorize a spell from the book, trusting it, if they don't know about these traps. Meaning the spell fails when cast, or has an unintended and unforeseen magical effect.So a spellbook, to an arcane spellcaster, is the greatest treasure.#Realmslore

RE Azoun IV’s reign. May we get a clear picture of a noble heir being Presented To The King?I know of glimpses, Cormyr for example (“Moderation, my leige?”)But I’m not aware of a detailed scene.Related tangent, how formalised was any “Young person of importance” coming out/being presented at court (which is the more typical phrasing in later 1350s?) – a fate that awaited/awaits most/all the children of any “family of significance”, as opposed to Presented to King which is just heir apparents, yes?

@TheEdVerseHi! During Azoun’s reign, “being presented at Court” is indeed the correct phrase in Cormyr. The same process applied to everyone of noble birth, not just heirs, and was twofold. Young person, when THEY feel ready (unless they pass their 22nd birthday without doing this, whereupon an envoy escorted by a Highknight and a War Wizard will come to them, to enquire why), will request an audience. Usually the request is conveyed through a parent (or older relative than the young person, if death or ill health prevents a parent doing so), and the parent accompanies them to Court.Where they have a private meeting with a clerk of the Court (again, backed by a Highknight and a War Wizard, plus a second hidden War Wizard who’ll use magic to detect falsehoods when they want to) about their personal aims, interests/hobbies, what they’d like to see change in the realm, what they like and want to preserve unchanged in the realm, and where they see their own life heading over the next two decades. This meeting takes place in the Royal Court building.Then, later the same day, or the next day if the King is really busy (if the King is away, the first appointment won’t be made until he is), they have a private audience with the King (who is protected via spells, including a wall of force if need be, by Vangey or Laspeera or another of the most senior War Wizards, in adjacent hiding (in a chamber linked via a secret door and spyholes with the audience chamber; there are six suitable small audience chambers in the Palace, which is where THIS meeting takes place. Azoun just wants to share some wine or tea and biscuits or “smallbites” (canapes) with the young person and get to know them; he’ll be friendly and informal, but try to learn enough of their true character to take his measure of them. Ideally, he wants this “moot” to end with the young person regarding their King as a friend.In all cases, if the King is unavailable for extended periods (this befell very rarely), Queen Filfaeril stood in for him.After this “real” presentation happens, the young person will receive a formal written invitation from an older noble, usually of another gender and almost always of a clear generation older, to be “on their arm” at the next dance, ball, or revel that the King and Vangey deem suitable (i.e. NOT one where a delegation from another country is being entertained upon THEIR first arrival). The older noble escorts them and introduces them, and may act as their ‘date’ for the rest of the evening if the young person desires it (usually only if they’re really shy), and is also responsible for seeing them safely home/back to their Suzailan lodgings, and for pulling them aside to privately explain any faux pas; War Wizards and Highknights, NOT in uniform, will be among the revelers and never far from the young person, because they are in fact tasked with spying on the young person to overhear who they talk to, what they say, and to take their own measures of the young person (intel that goes back to Vangey, who will pass it on to Fee and Azoun if he thinks it best). And Vangey will decide if the young person is a “peril” to the realm or someone who might be an asset if recruited to Crown service in some capacity, and will assign undercover agents to befriend and ‘steer’ either sort of young person, in the years ahead, to either NOT being a peril or into doing something they can be arrested for, or towards a recruitment meeting when the time is right (when the young person is ready for acceptance).And there you have it. :}[P.S. In #4 above, in early days, mind-reaming might occur if War Wizards grew suspicious.]#Realmslore

@Greysil_TassyrIf a magical device, particularly a staff, was made by the Imaskari, are there any "tells" -- magical or physical -- that it is Imaskari? What about for a staff of Netherese origin?

@TheEdVerseFor a FEW of both, yes: special alloys, making exclusive to those cultures, for staves made of metal, or mounted/shod with metal.#Realmslore

@Greysil_TassyrA followup, if I may: what would be the special alloys used by the Imaskari? And is there anything they wouldn't use, in a staff?

@TheEdVerseAlloys no one knows how to make in the modern-day Realms, that tend to be light, silvern- or ale-hued, malleable, non-ferrous and therefore resistant to corrosion/rusting, and capable of a lasting smooth glossy finish.

While it's a mistake to view either the Imaskari or Netherese as monolithic cultures, when they were really groups of very diverse individuals experimenting with magic and "craftwork" in many different ways, there is another, even rarer Imaskari 'tell': mutable runes.

Mutable runes are something no one else seems to have mastered (Mystra and the current Weavemasters who serve her frown on their use): runes etched into an enchanted item that CHANGE depending on who touches the item: a rune with the powers of X 'melts into' a different rune, Y, that has the powers of Y, not of X. One of those runes will be the default rune, that the item reverts to when not grasped, and no one ever managed to layer more than three mutable runes in one item (such items can also bear "fixed" runes).

The reason this is frowned on today is that the 'sharing space' property of the differing magics makes the item inherently unstable. That is, more likely to break in an explosion that will generate wild magic effects as well as a blast. Adding to mutable item rarity.#Realmslore

@jayeedgecliffIn Cormyr I know the demihumans are generally well regarded but I can’t help notice none are higher up the social order than Respected Shopkeep. None seem to be members of the noble or royal families. Is this by coincidence or some policy of law/tradition? /

Connectedly I know half-elves are prevalent in the fiction due to their long being a PC race in D&D, and I seem to recall you had a human-halfling (or was it dwarf … something short) in … El’s Daughter? (Don’t own a copy, read 10 El books in a week yrs ago) and /

Some game products have referenced human/demi halfs (just a mechanic of 3e I think … never really played that or 4). But what about demi/demi halfs? An elf-dwarf or halfling-orc? I can imagine they’re rarer but is there anything inherent in Toril’s make up that excludes this?

@TheEdVerse

Demi/demis have never been featured in published lore, so the few I've created for the home Realms campaign (elf-dwarf, mainly) have never been "seen." Culturally they'd be rare because of the paucity of opportunities for pairings between certain races.

In Cormyr, there are fewer dwarf crossbreeds because fewer dwarves because it was dragon territory and then elf territory before the coming of the humans, and fewer elf crossbreeds because the early humans saw the elves as competition to be pushed out or shunned, and that "set attitudes." Hence the lack of representation in the royal (one human family line!) and noble families; if a noble family wasn't oldblood or founding, it was ennobled for service to the monarch, which meant courtiers or sponsors or military of Cormyrean stock, which again meant human. In recent times, with Vangey's paranoia lessening, and all the upheavals, attitudes have been shifting, so any "keeping bloodlines pure" racist thinking is fading fast.#Realmslore

@ordolupus#forgottenrealms lore question. What would be the consequence of freeing Kultulmak god of kobolds, that was trapped by Garl Glittergold (that tricksy bastard) underground. Asking because I am pondering doing just that.

@TheEdVerseDoom to the world, if you believe the gnomes, because Kurtulmak is trapped for "eternity," so if you free him, eternity ends = oblivion = campaign ends. If you believe kobolds, it will bring about a great war with gnomes as K seeks vengeance. And if you then trust Elminster, that will bring doom to the kobolds, because thanks to Gond and the gnomish tendency to craft ingenious devices, and to many gnomes dwelling among humans in human-dominated cities and so knowing how to draw on financial resources and needed materials, the gnomes will crush the kobolds in any full-on conflict, reducing the race to "scattered dwellers in the deep places" (in the words of a certain prophecy), and we all know how fierce conditions are in the Underdark.But of course, your mileage may vary. ;}

@MTGPackFoilsHi. I have another question. After watching this video multiple times I am wondering if the title for “High Inquisitor” applies to the Clergy leader for each sect of Banites per region, or if Fzoul is the only one with that title.

@TheEdVerseHigh priests of Bane have regional leaders who are "Inquisitors." Like the real-world Pope, there is supposed to be only one "High Inquisitor," but at times of schism, there may briefly be two or even more rival High Inquisitors.

And in the 1370s there was briefly a beholder that styled itself "The Anointer Of High Inquisitors" (and proclaimed several, to send against Fzoul; none lasted long).#Realmslore

@zac_stellingReplying to @TheEdVerseHmm, this might be 4e stuff that's been swept under the pelt, but I think that Dagult Neverember was forced out of waterdhavian nobility for his "excessive" involvement in Neverwinter and lack of presence in Waterdeep. Is that right? #Realmslore

@TheEdVerseIn the eyes of Waterdeep's nobles, Dagult Neverember was never IN their ranks. The Open Lord and Masked Lords need not be of the Deep's nobility (and the Open Lord hasn't really ever been), and often function more as a check/rival to the nobles (though the nobles usually have some representation among the Masked Lords, both to be a part of/informed about the governing debates and rule-making, and because there are always some nobles who personally like wielding power.#Realmslore

@Welhaven1Is Dagult generally disliked in Waterdeep or does he still have supporters?

@TheEdVerseBoth. As in: he's generally disliked (as in, by the city at large; among the current Masked Lords and Palace staff, he's remembered with loathing, as are many individuals who stir things up), but still has a few supporters.#Realmslore

@jayeedgecliffthroughout the eras of history I know much about there’s been the instruments encouraged as Cultured among the educations of well-bred folk (harps, piano) & too the scandalous popular instruments (guitar, horn, uke, elec guitar of the 1880s to 1960s, for example) /

What’s a Cultured Suzailian play+enjoy in 1357-1360 era, and what do they like to get down the Pubs to hear & learn that gives mummy heart failure after evenfeast?Thanks

@TheEdVerseHeh. Harps are nigh the only "cultured" portable instruments (due to expense, difficulty of mastering); nobles and temples can afford non-portable instruments like the serpent and bellows-organs. Most Suzailans enjoy music, and most Suzailans are used to a wide range of instruments of all sorts, but minstrels usually lead in play; lacking them, a melody is carried by a strong-voiced singer supported by "slaptable" percussion and various "pipes" (like our real-world "recorder").

What brings on elders' heart failure in the way of music are usually bawdy alternate verses for well-known songs (i.e. parodies or "the dirty versions").#Realmslore

@SpeedboatJonesare there musical groups in Faerun, or are entertainers a solo act only? Also, has there ever been instances when music from our world found its way to Faerun?

@TheEdVerseYes, there are many, many musical groups, and even lone traveling minstrels will jam together if they wind up in the same inn or campsite for a night. And, yes, some music from our world has made it to the Realms via Elminster and others (the Welsh tune often referred to as "All Through The Night" and Greensleeves, to name two songs I can recall right away).#Realmslore

@AdamDravianI'm trying to suss out what parts of FR3 were invented by Scott. My guess: Deepshadow, Kartak the litch, the "Monster of the Lake", Icehaupt, Ernest Gallowglass, Company of Eight, Gorge of the Fallen Idol backstory, Djen origins of Calimshan, & Zanassu. Hot or cold?

@TheEdVerseBrief response to this one: hot. Every one you list is likely by Scott, because not invented by me.

I write an R-rated '80s-themed action-comedy webcomic called Satan Ninja 198X; you can check it out at http://satanninja.com

Q: What is the largest Dragon Turtle on Toril? Are there any that could contend with Ralauthoarindulglaw or other such dragons? Thanks!

@TheEdVerseI’m not sure. There have been reports of very large, very old ‘deep turtles’ that rule clusters of tropical islands, dining at will on the rich fish stocks and reef life. Many seasoned sailors suspect many of the ships that vanish in such waters don’t hit shoals and sink, but are snatched from below by dragon turtles, dragged down and engulfed whole or bitten in half and devoured, the indigestibles being spat out and all the rest consumed. Creatures that have water to support their weight, as air does not, can grow larger in the ocean depths than on land, so there should be twoscore or more dragon turtles that could rival Ralauthoarindulglaw.The largest I know of was Thaelin [THAY-linn], an island-sized dragon turtle that once laired in water-filled caverns in the submerged slopes of Tharsult, and was slain by a determined ad hoc army of hired wizards when he depredations began to imperil Tharsult’s shipping and therefore commerce.There have been reports of truly titanic dragon turtles basking off the south coast of Ulgarth. Locals there dubbed one of them “Sursylk” [SURR-silk] after a legend about a sinking island that may very well have been a dragon turtle. Or some other very large aquatic creature.